Aberrant
by MotherOfStories
Summary: My ofc in the Divergent universe, which will probably be Mary Sue-ish. You've been warned, read at your own risk.
1. Chapter 1

I think I always knew I didn't belong in Erudite. My first memory of not fitting in was when I was placed with foster parents at age four after my real parents had died under mysterious circumstances. The second experience happened when my first pair of glasses broke at eight, finding out that I could see just fine without them and made the mistake of asking why I needed another pair. My so called new family looked at me for a long moment as if I had suggested I burn the entire library down to the ground, then reprimanded me for saying such a thing about common culture in our faction. From that moment on, I knew I had to keep my thoughts to myself. I appeared to be a perfectly obedient child, taking whatever courses they told me to without any question or complaint. By my sixteenth birthday, I was studying under Liam Jackson, one of the best doctors in the hospital as his nursing assistant. I had made the mistake of getting comfortable in that good faction job, feeling like I might actually belong there after all and then the results for my latest examination came in, reading: _Failed_ _\- only eligible for desk job if Emma Chase chooses to stay in the Erudite._

News of who failed the exam would spread quickly through gossip and everyone would know by dinner, so I didn't care if anyone saw my results, leaving them on my bed in plain sight. I left the living quarters out the back way so my guardians couldn't see how upset I was. The next thing I knew, I was running up the stairways to the rooftop exit, bursting out into the cool evening air and screaming at the top of my lungs with all the pain and rage I felt. I sat up there and thought about my inevitable Aptitude Test tomorrow. I had read all about the serum used and knew what choices to make based on the different scenarios, so I thought about the real me that I hadn't showed anyone except Liam for at least eight years and compared that with all the other factions.

I went back down the steps slowly once I had made my decision by process of elimination, my head held high. When I returned to the living quarters, I was surprised to see Liam sitting in the living room, still wearing his white medical coat over his blue scrubs. Always well groomed with his auburn hair brushed back from his face that made his green eyes all the more striking, he was considered one of the most desirable bachelors in Erudite that no one had snagged up until I came along. Many had tried flirting or seducing him and getting rejected, but I had never pursued him in such a manner and many had been surprised when he'd started dating me.

"There you are, Emma." My foster mother said in a suspiciously friendly tone. I had learned a long time ago that she only was nice when others from our faction were around and would be expecting something later from me for it. "You have company."

Liam set aside the empty coffee cup, standing up. "You have a moment, Miss Chase?" He asked very formally, as if disgusted I had failed, but his eyes said differently.

"Yes sir." I noticed everyone in my "family" was watching us and gestured for him to follow me into the other room.

He did so and I could feel his eyes on me the whole time. He kissed me to keep me from saying anything and I didn't mind at all. We rejoined them to eat and talked for a while after dinner on top of the building, discussing my choice to go to his old faction and what he suspected Jenine was going to do to make Dauntless a mindless army. He gave me one final kiss goodbye and then was gone. Maybe I'd see him again one day or maybe I wouldn't. All I knew is that I would have to leave no room for doubts or suspicions once in Dauntless, just like Erudite. I realized that he was right, for even now I didn't feel like I belonged to one faction only, but I still would have to hide behind a mask.

"So what did Doctor Jackson have to say?" My "mother" asked as soon as I'd walked back in the door.

I took a breath as if trying not to cry, but really I was withholding a laugh. "I don't want to talk about it." I went to my room and shut the door before she could get in another word, knowing she'd think I had been coldly dumped. I flopped on to my bed, wondering if I'd ever find anyone like him before drifting off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

My Aptitude Test results were exactly what I had wanted, so when my name was called at the Choosing Ceremony I didn't hesitate to step over to the bowl with hot coals inside and cut my hand so the blood dropped inside. The Dauntless host watched as I joined his group, the only one from Erudite so far in a row of black leather. A few Candors in their immaculately pressed black and white suits had already moved over too and one girl wearing Amity's yellow garb for formal occasions came to sit beside me after making her choice. She looked frightened and I gave her a friendly smile as I introduced myself.

"It's nice to meet you, Emma. I'm Abigail Green."

"Nice to meet you too, Abigail." I didn't really pay much attention to the rest of the people that went up to add their blood to which ever bowl their Aptitude Test had told them to pick. No one was supposed to know how to cheat the system, though a few of the Erudite students like me did and kept it to themselves. I'd even heard rumors of someone from a prominent Abnegation family had disappeared from their faction into another, but those whispers vanished almost immediately.

The ceremony ended and everyone stood with their factions and headed out. As Dauntless, we naturally ran to the tracks and hopped on the train. It was a strange experience for me, but I was sure I could get used to it. I thought about Liam on the way to the Dauntless headquarters and wondered if he would have stayed if he'd known how to fool the simulation. Then again I wouldn't have met him and the Aptitude Test probably wouldn't have put me in Dauntless.

In fact, I would have probably ended up labeled as a Divergent and put in Jenine's "secret" lab she thought only her elite pupils knew about. It'd never occurred to her one of them would brag about how they'd performed experiments on anyone caught who was Divergent. As an outsider in the faction I'd been born into, I noticed Erudite possessed unfair advantages over the other factions like first hand access to technological and medical knowledge. While anyone might claim they shared this knowledge, I had seen perfectly good examples of Erudite keeping the best of everything from medicine to serums rumored to be able to kill anyone exposed to it.

My thoughts were interrupted by the Dauntless man in our car who stood up and instructed us to get ready to jump. It was only then I realized he looked like an older version of Liam, hints of grey in his auburn hair. It had to be Liam's father Marion, whose name no one in Dauntless dared to make fun of due to his excellent aim with any weapon at impossible distances and the fact he'd never been beaten in hand to hand combat.

His eyes rested on me as I lingered at the back of the line and gripped my elbow when I reached him. "You must be the Emma my son wrote to me about."

"I am." I felt a blush creep over my cheeks at the idea Liam thought me important enough to send a correspondence to his father.

"I wish we could have met under better circumstances. Ready to jump?"

I nodded and we lept together. We made our way to the entrance to Dauntless headquarters, though honestly it just looked like the top of a roof after we'd raced up several flights of stairs. Everyone got silent when one of the other leaders said we needed to jump again. Confused, no one new moved as I glanced around as the Dauntless born didn't waste any time. I decided it had to be a test, steeled myself against fear and walked over to the ledge. I let myself fall and landed safely in a black net which had been invisible from the roof. I whooped in relief and adrenaline as I was helped out by my fellows.

One by one, the others followed until no one was left on the roof when Marion brought up the rear. We all went into the compound and were introduced to our instructors and the resident doctor, whom it was assumed we'd need sooner more than later. We were shown to the dorm we'd share as new initiates and settled in without further ado. As I drifted off, I warned myself not to think I had a sure place here until I earned it and even then wouldn't really belong.


	3. Chapter 3

Training started the next day after breakfast and I was pleased to find Marion was my group's teacher. None of the younger men were able to defeat him in sparring matches, too eager to prove themselves against an older opponent who looked merely tall and thin at first glance. Whenever he moved, I could tell there wasn't an ounce of fat on his body by the way he effortlessly turned their attacks against them and it was easy to see where Liam had gotten his strength and iron will. The girls like myself were a little more cautious about charging into battle, instead taking the defensive approach to see what they could learn before defeat. He told us most of the other teachers would merely have us fight each other, but he believed that students learned better when they were shown the tactics of someone with more experience first. The end goal was to be the best if we wanted to stay in Dauntless, so he warned us from this point on he wouldn't go easy on us. Dauntless had changed over the years and now only strength was allowed to remain.

I understood the hint of bitterness behind his familiar eyes, the same look Liam had during our last conversation when talking about Dauntless. He'd mentioned the motto stated a belief in freedom from fear, ordinary acts of bravery and defending the defenseless, which had become twisted to mean weakness was cast out or encouraged to become extinct.

"Emma."

I jumped a little as my thoughts were interrupted and found Marion in front of me. "Yes, sir?"

"Looks like we're odd numbered, so you will face off with me again."

"Yes, sir." I scolded myself for getting distracted. I couldn't afford to let anything get in my way if I wanted to stay in Dauntless.

"You looked a million miles away."

"It won't happen again."

He nodded and didn't press me for details. When it was our turn, he motioned to me to step on the platform first and followed as quietly as a cat. His face was unreadable when I turned to him and he clearly waited for me to make the first move.

I knew he was fast despite his age and very good at redirecting any move his opponent made, so it would be better to get in some quick jabs that would hurt me less if I didn't get past his guard. I proceeded to land a punch here and there, but refused to get cocky. I noticed as we moved around the ring he was watching my every move with great intent and was as surprised as me when I turned one of his own hits against him. I could have sworn I saw a smile, though I couldn't be sure and I kept aiming for places on the body that were quite painful if hit. The accumulation of sweat on our skin and my own exhaustion I kept at bay told me we'd been circling each other for quite a while now, though I couldn't say exactly how long. That was when I saw an opening and took it, knocking him off his feet only to find myself going down with him because I'd neglected to notice he had hooked a leg around mine in the split second I'd decided to move. We struggled on the ground and I got the breath knocked out of me when he socked my abdomen so hard I coughed up blood as he pinned me down till I made the gesture of surrender, unable to do anything else.

"Keep fighting like that and you'll be better than me." He said quietly so only I heard.

"You seem to forget the new rules are till the other one can't move any more, Marion." A familiar voice interrupted the silence.

Marion's muscles were taught like a predator ready to pounce. "I seem to recall you couldn't get out of this hold either, Eric. Perhaps I should refresh your memory."

I was sure Eric would shoot him, but he just smiled. "No need to get so worked up. I just heard a lengthy fight was going on in here and had to see who could hold out so long against you. Never expected it to be Liam's ex, but then again maybe I should have."

I resisted commenting on how he was obviously still Jenine's lapdog and watched him leave as casually as he'd come in. The rest of the lessons passed without anything unusual happening and I put in a request to work in the medwing after dinner while most of the others wanted the coveted tattoo apprentice or weapons inspector or security detail positions. I listed my qualifications and headed back to the dorm to get some sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

When the day parents from other factions visited their children came, I fully didn't expect anyone to be waiting for me, though I went anyway so no one would ask why I thought my family wouldn't come. None of them could comprehend the feeling of not belonging and knowing without any doubt the people who'd taken you in to "care for as their own" had done everything but that. I wasn't surprised no one was there for me, though I did get to meet most of my classmates' relatives. After a while, the longing to feel like a part of their happy world was too much and I slipped away to explore. I eventually found a quiet place under the bridge on the rocky shore of "the Chasm" as all Dauntless referred to it as. I knew people had committed suicide here, but the underground waterfall was beautiful to look at. The sound of the rushing water was peaceful and allowed me to think undisturbed.

"Thought I might find you here. Folks couldn't make it?"

I glanced up to see Marion join me. "More like never planned on coming. My real parents died when I was little and the foster family I was placed with didn't ever like me. Guess I was too Dauntless for their taste."

"Their loss." He said and looked out over the water. "You'll fit in well here."

"Doesn't mean I should get comfortable."

He made a sound I could have sworn was a suppressed chuckle. "I'll let you in on a little known secret: No one smart gets comfortable in their faction. Doesn't matter if you were born there or chose it because a test told you to, you always stay on edge."

I glanced at him. "Speaking from experience?"

"I transferred from Candor a lifetime ago. Never regretted my decision, but never allowed myself to relax here either. When Liam told me he was going to choose Erudite, I didn't exactly approve but after his older brother Sean committed suicide by train when he couldn't make the lists here, I couldn't bring myself to forbid him to go. Too much of his mother in him, I guess."

"What was she like?" I blurted out and realized that I shouldn't have asked considering what little Liam had told me.

To my surprise, Marion answered: "Actually, she was a lot like you. Liam was probably drawn to you because of that."

I sighed. "Yeah well, I guess we're not exactly dating now since I'm in a different faction. Didn't really think of that till Eric called me Liam's ex the other day."

"Eric's always trying to rattle cages these days. Don't pay any attention to him. What you kids decide is up to you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

He stood up. "Any time. Ready to head up for lunch?"

My stomach rumbled in protest as I contemplated staying put. "Sure, now's a good a time as ever."

We climbed back up together and went to the dinning hall where we parted ways. I grabbed a tray and picked whatever food looked good.

"Emma, over here!" Abagail called from her seat with her parents, both of whom were wearing the same outfit she had been at the Choosing Ceremony.

I joined them with a smile. "You must be Mr and Mrs Green."

"You can call me Hugh, Emma." Her father smiled. "And this is my wife Judith. She's mute and uses sign language to communicate." His wife made some motions with her hand. "She says it's very nice to meet the girl who has been so nice to our daughter."

"We girls gotta look after each other with all these boys around." I gestured around the room.

Judith nodded her agreement.

"Your parents couldn't make it?" Abagail asked.

"No, though I'm sure they would have liked to. They passed away."

"So sorry to hear that. It's probably hard to see all these families without missing them."

I looked at Hugh in mild surprise. "A little bit, yeah."

"Judith and I understand how that feels. We took care of her ailing parents for many years as a community, trying to ease their pain before they passed on just before she and I got married."

"That sounds a lot harder than what I had to go through."

"Loss takes many forms." Hugh translated as his wife gestured with her hands. "It doesn't make your pain any less."

It felt nice to be around genuine people who clearly had nothing to hide. I'd heard those in Amity were accepting, though I'd never actually met one before Abagail. Her naturally kind disposition had made fighting and shooting range classes harder for her, but she'd gotten better after I pointed out those were forms of self defense needed in Dauntless. As I ate with them, I wondered what her parents thought about their daughter's choice even if them being here was a sign they supported her at least, but I didn't ask. After the meal was over, I return to the initiate dorm with Abagail and we bunked down for the night.

"Hey Abby?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you teach me sign language?"

"Of course."

I smiled in appreciation as I drifted off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Initiate training was almost over and I could hardly believe it. The day came for those accepted into Dauntless to be displayed and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw my name near the top and Abagail's towards the bottom, meaning my new friend had barely made it. I hopped on the next train, using my right as a Dauntless to go wherever I wanted to return to Erudite for a visit. Liam was working in the medwing when I arrived, so I waited at our usual meeting spot on the roof till he joined me still wearing his scrubs.

"Black leather looks good on you." He smiled and kissed me.

"I bet you looked better." I teased when our lips parted.

He shrugged. "I'm not attracted to myself, so I couldn't tell you that."

I couldn't help but laugh and hugged him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. I take it you got in?"

"Yeah, I did. Met another former Erudite there who showed his stripes."

"Eric." He said the name with as much distaste as I felt. "I figured he was still in bed with Jenine."

I nodded. "I can't figure out why the leaders put up with him."

"I think they're all on the same team. Who else would have in-depth knowledge of Dauntless security and personnel?"

"No one." I admitted with a sigh. "Eric called me your ex during training."

Liam snorted. "Like he would know."

I chuckled. "Your dad thought he was just ruffling my feathers."

"He's not wrong. Been hanging out with my old man, huh?"

"Infrequently. Reminds me a lot of you."

"My mom always said I was the most like him. I never saw the resemblance." He shrugged and changed the subject. "You think we can make a long distance relationship work?"

"I really want to say yes. Seems like we just found each other, but I also don't want to keep you from finding someone you could get serious with."

He pulled me close. "I'm serious about you, Em. I'm not even interested in any of these shallow, unintelligent girls. I'm sure however that there's some fierce Dauntless man who could catch your eye."

I laughed. "You're kidding, right? Those 'fierce men' only have one thing on their minds and it's not long term. They're nothing like you."

"Then it sounds as if we should give ourselves a chance."

"Definitely." I kissed him. "And I can come visit when I have free time. I got accepted as medical assistant, so I'll be getting scheduled shifts pretty soon."

He smiled. "I knew you would be a shoo-in. Everyone else in Dauntless is under qualified."

"Your vote of confidence is very assuring, if not a tad biased." I teased and was rewarded with another kiss, which I returned.

"Just calling it like I see it, though one could argue I will always be biased since I am in love with you."

"I love you too, Liam." I felt myself blush as he tucked a strand of my brunette hair behind an ear. "I almost wish I'd stayed here so we could be together more often."

He shook his head. "You'd have been miserable with the desk job they'd have given you. Whatever time we have will be more than enough, I promise."

I spent as much time with him as I dared before I jumped on a train back to Dauntless. Only Abagail seemed to notice I'd been absent, but she didn't make a remark on it. I asked how she had celebrated becoming an official member of the faction over dinner when everyone else had the table bragged about partying or going zip-lining.

"I wrote a letter to my parents and then went for a walk. Nothing exciting." She shrugged. "I would love to participate in zip-lining tomorrow though."

"Me too, let's go together."

Abagail smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me."

We finished our food and I decided to look at the tattoo list on the way back to the dorm we shared and debated if I had enough credits for anything that interested me. I decided to wait and Abagail nodded her approval. "Something bothering you?"

"I guess I'm just wondering how I got this far. Amity isn't exactly the most compatible faction."

"Says who? The Dauntless born? Some of them didn't make it at all, so I wouldn't take anything they said seriously."

She smiled a little. "You have a point, Emma. I'm glad we're friends."

"Me too."


	6. Chapter 6

Zip-lining as it turned out was a lot of fun. Abagail and I often went after the first time we'd tried it, though sometimes it was hard to find a spare moment to do so. Between my working hours and visiting Liam on days off, Abagail got a job as the psychologist Eustace Lorne's intern and admitted to me a couple weeks later they were also intimately involved, something I'd already known from her covered up hickeys after she came back to the dorm and hear her sneak out at night sometimes to meet him.

"I just hope he's not using her and will leave her with a broken heart." I admitted to Liam when we met up on the roof of the Erudite building after Abagail's "confession".

"I doubt you'll have to worry about that, Eustace was a year ahead of me and had a steady girlfriend the whole time till she dumped him and left Dauntless with some Factionless man. It's actually nice to hear he finally moved on and by the sound of how you describe your friend, I'd say it's with the right girl."

"Abby is pretty and sweet. She'd make a great wife and mother if Eustace is that serious."

"He was never one to mess around and already had a ring for Candice before she left. Probably is looking for one for Abby." Liam nudged me. "You want one too?"

I would have laughed if I that he was joking, but his expression told me he wasn't. "No one has ever married outside their faction before."

"So? We could be the first."

"We barely have time for each other as it is, you really think doing something that serious would be a good idea?"

He kissed and hugged me close. "We're making a relationship work across factions now, so I really don't see the difference. I'm not expecting an answer right away, but will you promise to think about it?"

I smiled as I kissed him back. "I promise."

I thought about our conversation the whole way back to Dauntless after reluctantly parting with Liam, my heart wanting to say yes while my head told me it wasn't logical. Even if we did get married, we would never be able to share a house unless we became Factionless and that wasn't something either of us would want for our children. If we did have children, they'd be considered Dauntless-born, yet caught between our factions like a pendulum swinging from a rock to a hard place repeatedly and if we didn't have children it might drive a wedge between us. Then again, a study done by Erudite recently had showed married couples now weren't having as many children or deciding not to have any, so we could cross that bridge after discussing it.

I jumped off the train and entered Dauntless's compound. I could hear everyone having dinner, but I didn't feel hungry and went to the Chasm instead. I found I wasn't alone down there, Marion sitting on a rock and nodding to me in greeting. "Not hungry either, huh?"

"No." He looked at my windswept hair. "You just get back?"

"Yeah. Got a lot on my mind." I sat next to him when he patted the rock invitingly. "Your son more or less proposed to me and said to think about it."

He smiled faintly. "Doesn't waste any time any more than I did."

"I just don't know about the inter-faction dynamics involved." I sighed. "Not to mention the fact that it would attract a lot of unwanted attention unless we went Factionless."

"That's true. There were times over the years I wished I had thought of marrying outside of my faction." He took a drink of his beer and offered me some. "Don't get me wrong, I was madly in love with Jenna and it definitely wasn't her fault she died in childbirth with what would have been another son, but I often wondered if the whole tradgey could have been avoided."

"Did you ever regret not going after your Candor girl?"

He chuckled softly. "Laura? Yeah, when I first got here I did. She ended up marrying my other childhood friend Gavin not too long after I left and there is no way I would have traded having my two boys with Jenna for anything in the world, but I did catch myself thinking of what might have been if I had chosen another path."

"That's the other thing I can't quite wrap my head around is the idea of children. I know Liam and I need to decide together, but if we choose to have them they could be in danger from the moment they're born, or an outcast no matter what factions they go to when they're grown, or we won't be able to agree on the matter and split up."

"Look Emma, I don't have all the answers and I'm not going to tell you and Liam how to live your lives because you two are perfectly capable of making your own decisions."

I smiled. "You know, I think you're the closest I have ever had to a father, Marion."

"That means a lot coming from you." He finished his drink. "Well, I'm going to bed. Good night, Emma."

"Night, Marion."


End file.
